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Baneling
The baneling is an explosive zerg strain in StarCraft II, evolved from the zergling. Overview Banelings are created from zerglings following a brief chrysalis phase. In the new form, the zergling's claws shrivel and become withered, and a swollen sac filled with volatile chemicals grows out of its back.2008-05-23. Baneling. Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed 2008-05-23. Banelings can waddle, but after an evolution they can tuck into a tight ball and roll around the battlefield. The creature's only form of attack is to trigger a reaction within its chemical payload that causes it to explode with devastating force and shower the immediate surroundings with searing acid.2008-05-23. Baneling. Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed 2008-05-23. These living bombs are highly effective against both structures and ground forces; in fact, a clutch of them is capable of wiping out a group of vehicles and infantry in the blink of an eye. The banelings' lethality is further enhanced by the zerg predilection for burrowing. An apparently safe area can soon turn into a deathtrap as these monstrosities emerge and roll into the midst of their foes, giving them virtually no time to react. History The strategically unimportant Terran Dominion mining planet of Sorona came under siege by the Zerg Swarm during the Interbellum. For eight months the colonists defended the strong point of Cask from daily zerg attacks, causing the local zerg to dwindle in number. Only minor breeds such as zerglings continued to be produced after some time. However, the entire town was under threat from spore cannons, which made no effort to attack. Meanwhile, the colonists contacted the Dominion daily, but received no reply. The colonists through their biggest problem was supplies, and they had to subsist on a native acidic mold. Accidental "reinforcements" from the 128th Platoon arrived, who helped defend Cask. Medic and former scientist-in-training Maren Ayers came to believe the zerg were deliberately reducing their numbers in order to speed up evolution. She took samples of dead zerglings and discovered they had incorporated the local mold into themselves. Accidentally detonating a mold blister, she destroyed her primitive lab room. Her unusual behavior prior to that event convinced the 128th's commander, Lieutenant Travis Orran, that she had been attempting suicide. s had driven the development and engineered a morph that could contain the energies until just the right moment.2008-05-23. Baneling. Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed 2008-05-23. For a week the zerg did not attack, and scouts finally located large numbers of "sick" zerglings. They were killed, but too late; the new baneling brood swept into Cask and eventually destroyed it. Meanwhile, the spore cannons were used to transmit genetic information to the rest of the Swarm. Ayers and Orran were the only survivors recovered by the Dominion, and both were subject to interrogation. Ayers revealed her findings, but also detonated a hidden baneling blister as revenge for the Dominion's abandonment of Sonara.Dayton, Cameron. "Broken Wide." (March 5, 2010). Blizzard Entertainment. Broken Wide Accessed 2010-03-05. Terran Reaction When terrans first encountered the baneling they thought it was a mutation of a previously unknown genus rather than a morph of the zergling. The baneling was duly added to the list of threats and scientists began an effort to develop chemical rounds to detonate banelings prematurely. An audio record of Ayer's interrogation, classified as Tactical Data L45.967.22, was extracted from the wreck of the battlecruiser Emperor's Fury. Game Unit Banelings are relatively large units that slowly move around the battlefield and kill opponents with a low-damage suicide attack. As of April 2009, banelings do not rollDustin Browder, Robert Simpson, Matt Cooper, David Kim. 2008-12-19. Battle Report (2). Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed 2009-04-16. unless they have their speed upgrade.Yes. In the current build, Banelings are no longer roll but once they get the movement speed upgrade, they have the rolling animation. Cydra. 2009-04-22. Do the Banelings roll with the speed upgrade? Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forums. Accessed 2009-04-22. It is strong against marines, zealots, and zerglings. It is weak against thors, stalkers, and roaches. Attacks Banelings are strong against melee unitsKarune. 2007-11-26. >Karune, can you please discuss new zerg pics. Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2007-11-26. and "light" buildings such as bunkers and photon cannonsBlizzcon Video Archive (Sonkie vs Yellow). Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed 2008-10-19. but are weak against ranged weapons due to their low hit points.Karune. 2007-11-26. Baneling Drop. Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2007-11-26. They are designed to counter zealots, zerglings and unupgraded marines.Xordiah. 2008-04-11. Discussion of the Month April: The Baneling. StarFeeder. Accessed 2008-04-12.Karune. 2008-04-13. Discussion of the Month April: The Baneling. Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2008-04-13. The baneling's splash attack does not injure friendly units.I can confirm you that exploding Banelings do not damage allied units: both your units and those of your allies are not affected at all by the acid explosion. Zhydaris. 2010-01-19. Question on Baneling splash damage/friendlys. StarCraft II General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2010-01-19.@Crazy_dave At the moment there's no friendly fire associated to the Explode ability. The baneling explode exactly when you press the key, no targeting needed, no delay. Yes, we've been following the thread you're referring to and we're quite interested in the discussion going on there. I suggest you to continue posting your suggestions because your opinion matters to us, even if we don't always reply to every single thread. @Phase_tn Here's one occasion where I think you might need smart casting. Let's assume you have 20 Zerglings currently selected, you don't have a lot of vespene gas and you feel the need for 5 or so Banelings. Without smart casting you'll have to manually select 5 of these little dodgy creatures and then morph them, or else you'll be mutating all of the 20 Zerglings into Banelings (and deplete your vespene reserves in the meanwhile). With smart casting on the other hand you'll be able to mutate 5 of them in a matter of seconds without deselecting them, just by pressing the key 5 times in a row. Obviously this is just an example, but I feel that smart casting has a role to play here. Zhydaris. 2009-12-15. Siege mode. Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2009-12-15.Quote: :But Banelings splash damage doesn't hurt your own units right? No, it doesn't hurt your own units. Karune, Olivestrip. 2009-03-16. Are Banelings going to be visible? (post 11) Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2009-03-16.Karune. 2008-04-16. StarCraft II Q&A - Batch 35. Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forums. Accessed 2008-04-16.Karune. 2007-11-26. Baneling's Explosion: Friendly Fire or Not?. Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2007-11-26. It does full damage within the splash radius. If a baneling is killed, it explodes, dealing splash damage around it.Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II beta. (Activision Blizzard) (in English). February 18, 2010 Banelings won't accidentally target buildings when ordered to attack units instead.Karune. 2009-02-18. StarCraft II Q&A - Batch 49. Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2009-02-18. Researched Abilities Researched Upgrades Strategies Banelings are a powerful economy-raiding force; by using overlords to transport them into an enemy base, they can quickly devastate the workers. However, a planetary fortress is well suited to destroying the banelings. Use of raiding is recommended even until late game.Zerglings are always useful in late game due to their speed and ability to surround enemies. Banelings too are especially useful against both Zealots and Marines, even with their upgrades, and thus will always be useful to counter them. Additionally, Banelings are always useful in raiding, which should be done throughout the entirety of a StarCraft II game. Karune. 2009-03-16. Teir 1 Unit in Late Game. Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2009-03-16. Banelings should be mixed with zerglings when facing ranged opponents because they become difficult to focus fire; even one baneling escaping the fire can destroy a mass of ranged units.Banelings are visible and still very effective. When they are grouped with Zerglings, it is hard to focus fire several Banelings approaching at the same time. Even one Baneling getting through can be devastating to mass Marine armies or groups of Zealots. Burrowed Banelings are also like mines, deadly when used as an ambush on unsuspecting forces. Karune. 2009-03-16. Are Banelings going to be visible? (post 2) Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2009-03-16. Banelings have low hit points so are best used in ambushes. They can burrow, attacking like mines, but can also attack from other hidden areas, such as behind trees, to accomplish the ambush.Pardo, Rob and Zetaras Xal'Kurat. 2008-06-29. WorldWide Invitational 2008: Pictures, Presentations, Videos (StarCraft II Panel: Evolving Design) SC2 Blog. Accessed 2008-06-30. Banelings are very useful against marines and zealots, even into the late game, and generally dominate units such as zerglings in combat, but zerglings can come out ahead with micro.The tier 2 battle continues with Banelings that can dominate Zerglings, but with micro, Zerglings can actually come out ahead in Zergling vs. Baneling battles. Karune. 2008-08-18. StarCraft II Q&A - Batch 43. Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2008-08-18. Banelings can be defeated by marines equipped with stimpacks or defended by marauders.Zarhym. 2010-03-12. #BlizzChat Developer Chat on Twitter – 3/12. Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2010-03-13. As they do splash damage, banelings are effective against cloaked units. For instance, a group of dark templar attacking a hatchery can be eliminated by banelings that target the hatchery itself.2007-17-11, StarCraft II Q&A - Batch 46. Karune. Accessed on 2008-18-11 A baneling/roach combo can be very powerful against terrans. The roaches will soak incoming damage, making it easier for the banelings to reach their targets.Hammy. 2009-04-04. ESL Finals Paris StarCraft II Gameplay Impressions. StarCraft Legacy. Accessed 2009-05-18. Notes A baneling levitated by Anti-Gravity explodes when destroyed,Exclusive Karune's answers for StarCraftCZ.com. StarCraftCZ.com Accessed 2008-06-03. dealing damage to air units. This can open up new tactics in team games.Karune. 2008-05-07. StarCraft II Q&A - Batch 37. Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2008-05-07. Baneling Development As of April 2008, banelings have been increased in size from previous builds to make it easier to focus fire on them. In addition their splash radius was increased.One of the reasons the size of the Banelings were increased from the size in the original Protoss Release Video was to make it plausible to defend against it. Before, if you have a group of Banelings attack with Zerglings, it was near impossible to focus fire on the Banelings. In the current build, their size, splash damage distribution, and hit points have been increased. These changes still make them potent, yet still allow the possibility of defense with superior micromanagement. The final size of the Banelings still may change, but this is the current design they are testing. Karune. 2008-04-14. Baneling model - too large. Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forums. Accessed 2008-04-14. References Category:Featured Articles